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#indiancountry

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#Trump’s federal cuts threaten #Indigenous communities

They told U.S. House lawmakers that the administration’s “chainsaw approach” to government cuts will disproportionately harm #IndianCountry

by Shondiin Silversmith, Mar 6, 2025

"From securing funding for #IndianHealth Services and ongoing #WaterSettlements to increasing investments in infrastructure, education and law enforcement, many Indigenous leaders and organizations are raising the alarm about the devastation that federal funding cuts could bring for #NativeAmericans.

"More than 60 tribal leaders and organizations from across Indian Country testified over three days to a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on the federal funding needs of Indigenous people and their communities nationwide.

"'I know there’s never enough funding to go around,' Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said, and he appreciates how the subcommittee has consistently set aside several days to hear Indian Country’s funding priorities.

"'It is the process that starts the funding decisions for tribal programs, staffing and priorities for this administration,' he added. Tribal leaders and organizations gave five-minute testimonies to the subcommittee from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27.

"Lewis used his five minutes to discuss the Trump administration’s actions and their impact on his community.

"There is 'real fear' within tribal communities about what is happening in Washington, D.C., he said, referencing the freezing of federal funding and the mass firing of federal employees across the government.

[...]

"He added that the cuts are being made without considering how they will impact services. Rather than making the government more efficient and effective, it is 'creating a federal workforce that is paralyzed by fear.'

"Lewis called the administration’s actions #destabilizing and said they will have a disproportionate impact on Indian Country.

"'The government-to-government relationship is only as strong as our federal partner,' he said. 'And right now, there is a real concern that the federal side of this partnership has the real potential of being dismantled.'"

Read more:
ictnews.org/news/tribal-leader
#USPol #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AirIsLife #RespectTheTreaties #USGovtCleanUpYourMess #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousNews #BadDOGE #DOGE #HealthCare

So, my friend #BrendaNorrell of #CensoredNews tried an experiment... To see what #DeepSeek had to say about #StandingRock and other stuff (versus #ChatGPT). Ironic that the country that squashed and censored #TianmenSquare would be more "truthful" about similar actions here in the #US.

Rival Chinese and U.S. Companies Respond to Controversial Questions from #IndianCountry

by Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Updated February 1, 2025

"We asked the rival Chinese-owned and U.S.-backed search platforms a series of controversial questions from Indian country, on torture in #ResidentialSchools, critical injuries of #WaterProtectors at Standing Rock, bordertown #racism in #RapidCity, and federal lawsuits filed against #DebHaaland while she was Interior Secretary.

"We asked if the #RioPuerco wash, flowing by #Navajo communities, was contaminated by the #ChurchRock #uranium spill. We also asked who were the Lakota Red Warriors.

"Chinese-owned DeepSeek gave a more detailed description of the critical injuries that water protectors suffered at Standing Rock. China's DeepSeek included #TigerSwan in its response. Neither platform gave information on numerous federal lawsuits in the aftermath of the #resistance to the #DakotaAccessPipeline, or the upcoming trial in North Dakota District Court, #EnergyTransfer v #Greenpeace and #RedWarriorSociety."

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/01
#USPol #StandWithStandingRock #ReaderSupportedNews #SilencingDissent #Censorship #AICensorship

bsnorrell.blogspot.comRival Chinese and U.S. Companies Respond to Controversial Questions from Indian CountryCensored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

Holy sh*t! This from my friend #BrendaNorrell at #CensoredNews: Update (10/28/2024): "Interior Sec. #DebHaaland's push for #uranium and #LithiumMining in #SacredPlaces in #IndianCountry, poisoning the water, and the push for increased #plutonium storage in the heart of #PuebloLand, and promotion of the #AtomicBomb industry as #GreenEnergy, was surprising and confusing -- until a reader exposed the U.S. Defense Department [#USDOD] contracts going to Haaland's tribe's business #LagunaIndustries in #NewMexico. See reader comments below."

O'odham Woman Becomes Hero When Genocide Joe Comes to Town

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Oct. 25, 2024

From the comments section:

Anonymous wrote:
"Deb Haaland's tribe's business, Laguna Industries uses #DepletedUranium in their military components. Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process, and it's incredible dense, making it ideal for military applications. It's used to make armor-piercing ammunition for tank armor because it can easily penetrate armored vehicles. Their front company is a maker of car wash components."

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/10

bsnorrell.blogspot.comO'odham Woman Becomes Hero When Genocide Joe Comes to TownCensored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

The Silent Killers in #IndianCountry: #Copper, #Lithium, #Uranium and #Plutonium

Judge finds plutonium plants in #NewMexico and #SouthCarolina violated environmental laws

By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Oct. 10, 2024

"The U.S. government's plan for increased plutonium production at #LosAlamos National Laboratory, in the heart of Pueblo lands in northern New Mexico, has been delayed by a federal judge.

"Continuing the U.S. legacy of poisoning Indian country with #radiation, this comes as the U.S. government is granting leases to foreign #mining companies targeting Native #sacred lands and communities.

"#CopperMining is targeting San CarlosApache's sacred #OakFlat; #Hualapai are suing the US Department of Interior to halt lithium mining at their sacred spring Ha'Kamwe'; and the U.S. government is promoting the ongoing digging into the #Paiute Massacre Site in northern Nevada for #lithium, in violation of all federal laws that protect Native religious and historic sites, the environment and endangered species.

"Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon threatens #Havasupai's aquifer, the haul route endangers everyone in the Four Corners region, and the uranium mill at White Mesa Ute in #Utah is poisoning #Utes.

"Interior Sec. #DebHaaland said in Farmington, N.M., that Los Alamos Labs would be the leader in the so-called '#GreenEnergy transition' in the #FourCorners region.

"More than 500 radioactive #UraniumMill sites remain on the #NavajoNation that have not been cleaned up by the U.S. #EPA, which deceives the public by announcing plans and promises to clean up the #ColdWar sites.

"In the current federal lawsuit, a federal judge in South Carolina ruled that U.S. energy officials illegally neglected to study impacts to the #environment in efforts to increase plutonium production for nuclear weapons in New Mexico and South Carolina.

"'South Carolina District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sided with environmental, #AntiNuclear proliferation and community groups last week who sued the National Nuclear Security Administration (#NNSA), which oversees the nuclear weapons stockpile as part of the U.S. Department of Energy [#DOE],' reports Source New Mexico.

"The U.S. is investing billions into restarting the manufacture of #PlutoniumPits, the grapefruit-sized spheres developed for #nuclear weapons. The plutonium is produced from uranium.

"'The federal government halted its manufacturing program at the #RockyFlatsPlant in #Colorado in 1989 after an FBI raid due to safety concerns and #EnvironmentalCrimes,' Source New Mexico reports.

"The U.S. government's #AtomicBombTesting in #Nevada left a trail of cancer and death for #WesternShoshone. The documentary 'Downwind' reveals the truth.

"'This is a very serious issue and that's why I can't let it go. I can't move on. People say, 'oh, why don't you just let it go?' Because it's killing my family. It's killing my land. It's killing my people. And that will not stand. It's being done in secret. And killing Indians in secret will not stand,' said Ian Zabarte, Principal Man of the Western Bands of the #ShoshoneNation of Indians. Zabarte is featured in '#Downwind' about radiation poisoning from U.S. #NuclearTests.

"Currently, foreign companies -- which receive the profits and find it easy to avoid clean up and responsibility for #environmental crimes and deaths from #cancer -- are receiving the mining leases from the U.S. government. The leases are granted by the U.S. Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and in the case of #UraniumMining in the #GrandCanyon, it is the USDA's Forestry Service. #Biden's attorneys have joined the lawsuit with #RioTinto to devastate #OakFlat.

"Australian and Canadian mining corporations are devastating Native lands and communities, poisoning the water and causing widespread cancer.
Rio Tinto, targeting Apaches #OakFlat, is an Australian company which destroyed 46,000 years of #Aboriginal sacred history in caves in #Australia.

"Another Australian mining company is targeting #Hualapai's sacred site. It is #Hawstone / #ArizonaLithium, in Perth, Australia.

"#EnergyFuels, now uranium mining in the Grand Canyon, and operating the uranium mill at #WhiteMesaUte, is a Canadian company. Another Canadian company is digging into the #Paiute Massacre Site. It is #LithiumAmericas.
#Hopi judge #DianeHumetewa granted a temporary restraining order to halt the lithium mining at #Hualapai's sacred spring."

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/10

bsnorrell.blogspot.comThe Silent Killers in Indian Country: Copper, Lithium, Uranium and PlutoniumCensored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

From 2019:

#BlackfeetNation to host first-ever Murdered and Missing
#IndigenousWomen tribunal in the U.S.

Posted on September 26, 2019 Last Read Indians, via #CensoredNews

#MMIW tribunal to be held at the Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana the weekend of October 4-5 [2019]

"'This is not just a Blackfeet or #Montana tribes’ tragedy, it is an #IndianCountry tragedy, and a national and international disgrace. This is a multi-generational epidemic the federal government has done nothing to address – even less than the #CanadianGovernment – which was found to be complicit in ‘deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide’ by its own National Inquiry into MMIW,' said Chairman Tim Davis of the Blackfeet Nation. "

"'The Blackfeet Nation is uniquely positioned to host this first of its kind MMIW tribunal in the lower-48 states. The Blackfeet Tribe (Amskapi Pikuni), a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy along with its three sister tribes – the #Piikani, #Blood and #Siksika, located in #AlbertaCanada, stands in solidarity in combatting the issue of MMIW (MMIP) in Indian country. “The truth is that we live in a country whose laws and institutions perpetuate violations of basic human and Indigenous rights. These violations amount to nothing less than the deliberate, often covert campaign of genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people,' wrote Chief Commissioner Marion Buller in Reclaiming Power and Place, the final report of Canada’s National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls published on June 3, 2019.

“'We are not divided by the border we are united in our grief. Many women and children stolen from our communities are trafficked back and forth between the US and Canada,' explained Chairman Davis.
Tribal members constitute seven percent of Montana’s population, but the state identifies some 26 percent of missing persons as Native American. Available evidence suggests that may be a low estimate. Last year’s Urban Indian Health Institute Report identified Montana as the state with the fifth highest incidence of MMIW cases. Billings, which had the same disturbing ranking among cities, is a known-hub on the I-90 corridor through #CrowNation, #Cheyenne and #LakotaDakota country to Minnesota, along which indigenous women and children are trafficked into sex slavery. The western 'track' runs from Missoula to Seattle, Washington. As of spring 2019, Montana had not submitted any MMIW data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'For those abducted into sex-slavery, the I-90 corridor is a second #HighwayOfTears, said Chairman Davis, drawing a comparison to the infamous highway in #BritishColumbia cited in #ReclaimingPowerAndPlace."

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/10

bsnorrell.blogspot.comBlackfeet Nation to host first-ever Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Tribunal in the U.S.Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

What's going on in #IndianCountry?!!

Joy Rides into the Stratosphere, and #MilitaryIntelligence: Helium Balloons over #Navajo and #Lakota Nations, Indian Country

"#WorldView also announced a partnership with the military defense contractor #SierraNevada for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, for the U.S. military using its balloons. One of these balloon flights was for the U.K. defense department in the Grand Canyon."

By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Sept. 5, 2024

"Joy rides into the stratosphere, and military surveillance, are two of the purposes for the helium balloons over the #NavajoNation, #LakotaNations in #SouthDakota, and most of Indian country, according to the owners of the helium balloons.

"#TheGuardian exposed the helium balloons #spying platforms and the #ACLU in South Dakota warned of this #surveillance. The balloons are capable of video recording vehicles traveling to #protests, and can reveal where the vehicles arrived from. It's spying without a warrant.

"The balloon owners, Aerostar and World View, have U.S. military contracts for recovering payloads, as was the case with World View's experimental payload recovery in the #GrandCanyon for England's defense department. These balloons can also carry out ground surveys.

"Aerostar is based near #SiouxFalls, South Dakota, and World View is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona."

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/09

bsnorrell.blogspot.comJoy Rides into the Stratosphere, and Military Intelligence: Helium Balloons over Navajo and Lakota Nations, Indian CountryCensored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

For #TwoSpirits, An Opportunity To Reclaim Acceptance Across #IndianCountry

KLCC | By Brian Bull
Published November 29, 2018

"The term '#TwoSpirit' in #NativeAmerican culture often describes a person possessing both male and female spirits. And they’ve been around well before the Santa Maria or the Mayflower dropped anchor. And while 'Two Spirit has been used for Indians who identify as gay, bisexual, or transgender…many say there’s more to it than that. KLCC’s Brian Bull explores a community that’s finding its voice again after generations of oppression, prejudice, and oversight.

"This summer, the annual #Powwow in #SiletzOregon presented something subtle…yet powerful.

"A new sign affirming tribal members could compete in the gender category of their preference debuted at this year's annual #SiletzPowWow.

"Lisa Norton, a member of the #ConfederatedTribesOfSiletz Indians, explains.

"'It’s a competition pow-wow, so people dance in categories…traditionally male or female.

"'So one of the things we wanted to do was #ungender that, so we were able to post a sign that said we were an open and affirming pow-wow. And that people could feel free to compete in the category they desired.'

"It was the first time such a sign was posted at the event. This pleased #JackieCloud, a Chippewa who identifies as a 'Two Spirit'.

"'And I also saw Two Spirit individuals out there dancing. And I was like, 'YEAH! Cool!'

"Cloud joined the other dancers.

"'Y’know there’s that twinge of excitement, exhilaration, oh like…it’s okay. And I commented to someone that I was with there at the pow-wow, and she said, 'That’s where we need to be. That’s where we need to be going.'

"'And so I was very proud of the tribe of #Siletz to…to acknowledge that.'"

Read more:
klcc.org/arts-culture/2018-11-

#Decolonize #NonBinary
#GBLTQI #Activism
#Reclamation #Indigiqueer

#LeonardPeltier Denied Parole: #NDNCollective Responds

By NDN Collective • July 2, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2024

Rapid City, South Dakota – "Today, NDN Collective and millions of people across #IndianCountry are devastated to learn that Leonard Peltier, an #activist and member of the #AmericanIndianMovement (#AIM), has been denied #parole by the United States Parole Commission. The Commission issued the decision today after a parole hearing on June 10 at the United States Penitentiary Coleman I in #Florida, where Mr. Peltier is currently incarcerated.

"'Today is a sad day for #IndigenousPeoples and #justice everywhere. The U.S. Parole Commission’s denial of parole for Leonard Peltier, America’s longest serving #Indigenous political prisoner, is a travesty,' said Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective. 'They denied parole to a survivor of genocidal Indian #BoardingSchools as he struggles to survive this unjust incarceration, they insist on holding him for a crime for which they have no physical evidence against him. Clearly, the Parole Commission – which is supposed to be an independent body – was influenced by the #FBI. The FBI continues to abuse its power, promote false narratives, and engage in counterintelligence activities. The FBI has no regard for the Constitution or the laws they have sworn an oath to protect.'

"'This decision is consistent with how the #UnitedStates government has treated the Indigenous Peoples of these lands. They have broken every promise they have ever made to our Nations, and have ignored their Constitution in order to erode the civil and #HumanRights rights of #Native people. But while we are heartbroken by the parole commission’s decision, our work to ensure that Leonard will receive justice and freedom will continue with renewed dedication,' Tilsen said.

"Leonard Peltier, a member of the #TurtleMountainBand of #Chippewa Indians, is in his 49th year of imprisonment. He stands as a symbol of the ongoing #racism and oppression against Native Americans in the United States criminal justice system, issues that Leonard fought against in the 1970’s and throughout his incarceration.

"NDN Collective will continue to demand freedom for Leonard Peltier as his attorneys file an appeal of this decision. The organization will also continue its advocacy for a grant of clemency from President #JoeBiden.

Read more:
ndncollective.org/leonard-pelt

NDN COLLECTIVE · LEONARD PELTIER DENIED PAROLE: NDN COLLECTIVE RESPONDS - NDN COLLECTIVEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2024 Rapid City, South Dakota – Today, NDN Collective and millions of people across Indian...

Iindigenous tribes of the northern plains and upper Midwest are collaborating to build an electric vehicle corridor connecting them. This includes installing chargers, buying vehicles (cars, pickup trucks, and school buses), and training people to manage and repair them.

Check out their web site and tell me they don't have the most fabulous logo ever:
electricnation.info/

Here's an interview from EV journalism channel Transport Evolved:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=nN4h1qpM

Here's a recent story on Minnesota Public Radio:
mprnews.org/story/2024/01/25/n

The Electric NationElectric Nation – Minneapolis, MNElectric Nation connects tribal nations with vital regional services to promote a clean energy economy. Join us in creating a more sustainable future.

This hits home for me. I worked with Klee's family and provided #MutualAid when I was reporting on #BigMountainResistance years ago. My heart goes out to the Benally family and all those whose lives he touched. #RestInPower Klee. Link to fundraisers via #IndigenousAction at the end of the post.

Warrior #KleeBenally Never Surrendered: A Life of #RevolutionaryLove, Resounding '#RegainYourPower

by Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews, January 2, 2024

"Our hearts are broken by the sudden passing of our friend Klee Benally. Reflecting on Klee's life, we remember the words of #CheGuevara that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.

"Klee never surrendered, he never surrendered to #capitalism, the media, or the forces of conformity that sought to change who he was.

"Ultimately, Klee taught us to regain our power, regardless of the road that led us to the present.

"#LouiseBenally, #Dine' of Big Mountain, said, 'Klee was our spokesman and leader. His departure only means we have to rise and carry on the work for justice for #nature and humanity. I will miss him Greatly and Honor him highly.'

"His roots come from Big Mountain, grandson of the late #RobertaBlackgoat.

"'He was an honorable young leader, well respected and moved with a lot of compassion. My nephew brother and my leader. A truly beautiful and amazing person who really lived up to his beliefs, and was not driven by money but by needs and concern, a real warrior.

"'He was our shining Star, he will continue to shine on us from the other side.

"'He always honored me, I will miss that,' Louise said.

"#MichelleCook, Dine', said, "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the news of the passing of our beloved warrior Klee Benally. We ask for prayers for his family during this time. For decades Klee led an uncompromising position, for the liberation of our peoples and lands developing and synthesizing an embodied praxis of #Indigenous-based political, economic, and social resistance against all forms of #SettlerColonialism that degrades people and the planet.

"Klee was our North Star guiding with his heart and mind. While some may not have shared his positions, no one can question his dedication, determination, and sheer drive to protect his people despite the risks and danger.

"He risked his life through forms of #CivilDisobedience and #DirectAction to protect our Dook’o’oosłiid, #HolyMountain, from development to maintain our ceremonial practices and way of life.

"Klee taught us all to be brave to fight against #genocide, the co-optation of our movements by the non-profit #IndustrialComplex. To be steadfast in what is right and wrong. To honor our ancient law and the sacred teachings of our ancestors and Grandmothers. His departure leaves a void in #DinehNation and #IndianCountry," Michelle said.

"Now with his absence from this material plane, we have no choice but to pick up his work, pick up the slack, carry on, and continue our journey as Dineh in a beautiful way.

"Klee's development and articulations of Indigenous peoples and archaism remain relevant for social movements within and outside of #TurtleIsland.

"He will forever remain in our hearts and minds as a guiding light and a growling voice, screaming freedom, for our earth and peoples. We love you Klee.

"Rest now our sacred warrior. Your work is done. We are so proud of the legacy you cultivated and left for this world. Journey well our sweet warrior until we meet again in the great Star Camp beyond," Michelle said.

"Klee passed to the Spirit World on Sunday, after being hospitalized.

"We send our sincere condolences to his family, his wife Princess, family Jones, Berta, Jeneda and Clayson, and all those who knew and loved him.

"From locking down in U.S. #BorderPatrol headquarters in Tucson, to chaining himself to equipment in defense of Sacred San Francisco Peaks, to battling the auctioneers of the sacred ceremonial items in Paris, and leading the #HaulNo movement to protect the #GrandCanyon region from #UraniumMining, to feeding the #unsheltered in Flagstaff, and standing strong for #Palestine, Klee's powerful actions remain a moving force to resound, and rivet us all, to struggle for a world without compromise.

"Klee recognized that the non-profit industry was designed to water down the resistance and turn the sacred movements into an ATM machine for a select few.

"Fly high, my sweet friend."

bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/01

indigenousaction.org/donations

bsnorrell.blogspot.comWarrior Klee Benally Never Surrendered: A Life of Revolutionary Love, Resounding 'Regain Your Power'Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.